If God did not intend for us to eat animals, then why did he make them out of meat? - John Cleese. In a given year, the average American consumes 73.6 pounds of poultry, 62.4 pounds of beef, 46.5 pounds of pork and 16.1 pounds of shellfish. (visualeconomics.com) That adds up to almost 200 pounds of animal flesh consumed, per person, per year. And really, those numbers are skewed by the rapidly growing number of vegetarians and (groan) vegans who are running around these days, averaging zeros across the board.  If you are afflicted with vegetarianism, and for some reason the quote at the top didn't send you running, feel free to stop reading now. As for the rest of us, if you're like me

In this day of Food Network stars and celebrity chefs, one culinary icon (BAM!) has been singing the praises of the pig for nearly as long as he's been mugging for the camera:   "Pork fat rules, baby".   Apparently, the man has never been to a Duck Off. Thursday night marked a unique culinary experience at Grange Restaurant: to my knowledge, Sacramento's first-ever Duck Off.  The five-course, prix fixe dinner benefitting the California Waterfowl Association, was preceded by an Iron Chef style competition between Grange executive chef Michael Tuohy and food writer Hank Shaw.  The cook-off was judged by a veritable who's-who of Sacramento Foodie Glitterati, including Darrel Corti and Rick

Grange Restaurant’s Executive Chef Michael Tuohy and “Hunter Angler Gardener Cook” food writer Hank Shaw go beak-to-beak this Thursday, Nov. 12, in a chef's challenge benefitting the California Waterfowl Association. Appropriately named the "Duck Off," a panel of judges, including California Waterfowl Association President Bob McLandress, Corti Borthers Darrell Corti and The Sacramento Bee Rick Kushman and Niesha Lofing, will name the winner at Grange during the afternoon competition where Tuohy and Shaw use wild duck to create the most delectable dishes. That evening, patrons are invited to celebrate with a five-course prix fixe menu ($65 plus tax and gratuity) inspired by the earlier c